One consistent element in the art I have done since I was a boy is monsters.

GERR!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Monsters Attack!

Monsters Attack was a short lived magazine that was first published in 1989. It was an attempt to be like the Warren magazines Creepy and Eerie. It never caught on. It did have a few good stories and some art by wonderful cartoonists like Alex Toth and Steve Ditko. The cover to issue #1 was painted by another contributing artist from the Warren magazines, John Severin.

Severin's art is immediately recognizable. His inking and effective use of Craftint paper give his work a gritty style that was always effective in war, western or historical stories. His work in horror comics is not especially gross or gruesome; but it has a wonderful rough texture that adds a sense of every day realism to a story.Like fellow 1950's EC alumni artist Jack Davis, Severin's style seemed to have emerge almost fully realized from the beginning of his career in comics. This black and white panel above is from the opening story in Monsters Attack #1. The color cover art fromTwo-Fisted Tales #38,1954, is amazingly consistent with his later work.

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For many people, monsters and creatures of all sorts are weird things for someone to enjoy; but the dual nature of our personalities and learning to deal with fear and what is uncontrollable in our lives is common to us all. Humor is a useful tool for that purpose.